Suzanne Nossel, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, has tendered her resignation and steps down on January 11th. Amnesty are looking to appoint a new Executive Director.

HRI has written about and campaigned for Nossel’s dismissal. In our opinion and that of many Amnesty members her advocacy of war to cement the US’ position of dominance worldwide made her completely unsuitable for the role.

We wish Suzanne Nossel all the best in her future career and hope she will find a position advocating human rights in a non-violent way, respecting the human rights of the Palestinians and, perhaps, with a more critical attitude towards US foreign policy.

We are also hopeful the Amnesty USA Board will make a better choice this time around and appoint as Executive Director a person who can help Amnesty to come to terms with their failures over Libya, including failing to take timely action to defend the Tawergha, migrant workers and dark-skinned people from racist atrocities and ethnic cleansing and to defend the people of Sirte from NATO bombing.

The new Executive Director should also be committed to ensuring that, in the future, Amnesty resists those forces who seek to use the organisation as a propaganda vehicle for western military intervention.

After supporting AI for 30+ years, I quit because of what happened in May during NATO Summit ( AI supported NATO and asking NATO not to leave Afghanistan and invited Madeleine Albright to speak on Women’s Rights in Afghanistan ). May be the next chief at AI will be a real Human Rights advocate……. if so,I can go back to supporting AI.

Well, thanks be to God. I couldn’t in conscience support Amnesty any more with Suzanne Nossel in that position. And I’ve been a member since the early ’70s. This is probably the best news I’ve read all month! I hope the new Executive Director is a more suitable person for the position, especially with Syria under attack while the USA has its eye on Iran. “Humanitarian intervention” is a myth when it’s being pushed by NATO.

Nossel’s relentless championing of preemptive war — which under international law is illegal — as a State Department official along with her callous disregard for Israeli mistreatment of the Palestinians and her refusal as a government official to denounce the use of torture and use of extra-judicial killings, makes her utterly unfit to lead ANY human rights organization…